Button-setting machine.



C. C HAMMOND.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

APPL'ICATION FILED APR.21.1914.

1,14,84:1 Patented June 29, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

THE NORRIS PETERS ($0., PHOTC-LITHQ. WASHINGTON. o. C.

C. -C. HAMMOND.

BUTTON'SETTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.21.'19 4.

7 1,144,841. PatentedJune 29,1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET 2.

I mlin -jiwmm ll- E NORRIS PETERS CO F'HOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D, c.

C. C HAMMOND.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR.21.1914.

Patented June 29, 1915.

5 SHEETS SHEET 3.

G T/tom MA/J THE NLRRIS PETERS 60., FH 'Tv-LrTrfl WASHINGTON, D. c.

C C. HAMMOND.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2.1, 1914.

Patented June 29, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4 JJ a Ig y f g, (2?; (wmmm fir 4 I mum y THE NORRISPETERS 60., PHOTu-LITHQ. WASH NGTON. o. C.

C. C. HAMMOND.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

AFPHCATON FILED APR-21,1914- 1,144,841 Patented June 29, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET 5- PATENT @FFTQJE.

' CLARENCE C. HAMMOND, OF WIOHITA, KANSAS.

BUTTON-SETTING MACHINE.

1 144 8411 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22?, 1915.

Application filed l-lpri121, 1914. Serial No. 833,383.

To all whom itmcy concern I Be it lrnownthat I, CLARENCE O. HAM- aroma,a citizen of the United States, residing at l ilichita, in the county ofSedgwick and'fitate of Kansas, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Button- Setting Machines, of which the following is aspecification. L

This invention relates to machines for fastening buttons having eyeshanks to boots, shoes and other articles, by threading a wire throughthe shank and forming the same into a staple, the prongs of which aredriven through the article to which the buttons are to be fastened,after which the prongs are clenched to complete the fastening. I I I vThe invention has for its object to provide a simple and e'llicientmachine of the kind stated, the moving parts of which are so assembledthat they may all be driven from one shaft. This object is attained bymeans of a novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafterdescribed and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a plan View of the machine with parts broken away;Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; F i 3 is a front elevation withparts broken away; Fig. L is a rear elevation partly in section; Figs.5, 6, 'T-and S are diagrammatic plan views illustrating the operation ofthe staple forming and setting mechanism; Fig. 9 is a side elevation ofthe parts shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a cross-section on the line 10-10; of Fig. 1; Fig. 11 is a longitudinal section of a gripper to behereinafter described; Fig. '12 is a cross-section of a button chute;Fig. 13 is a plan view of the discharge end or mouth of said chute; Fig.14 is a side elevation of a button hopper or magazine; Fig.15 is a planview thereof, and Figs. 16, 17 and 18 aresections on the lines 1616,1717 and 18-18, respectively, of Fig. 15,.

Referring specifically to the drawings, on the base or bed piece 1 ofthe mechanism, at the ends thereof, are firmly attached upright piecesor standards 2 having bearings in which is journaled a drive shaft3-having suitable means, to be presently described,

whereby motion is imparted to all the moving parts. The shaft is drivenfrom any suitable source of power; or it may be operated by a foot pedalor any other means.

The buttons to be fastened arecontained works.

in a hopper or magazine 4 from which they are fed into an inclined chuteat leading to the staple forming mechanism and carrying the buttons tosaid mechanism. The staples for fastening the buttons to the article areformed of wire which is passed through the eye-shank of the button, cutoff and then on top of a standard 8 mounted on the base 1. The leverswings in a horizontal plane to carry the gripper toward and from thestaple forming mechanism. Opposite the standard 8 is a standard 9,between which standards is mounted, to swing in a vertical plane onanaxis at right angles to the axis of the lever 6, a rocker 10, the latterhaving.

trunnions 11 intermediate its ends which are supported in bearings onthe standards The upper end of the rocker carries a pin 12 which extendsinto a slot "13 in the lever 6,

whereby the motion of the rocker istransmitted to the lever to operatethe gripper 5. The rocker 10 is actuated by a roller 14: carried by avertically swinging arm l5'pivoted at 16 to the standard 9 and connectedby. a short pitman 17 to a crank 18 fast on the drive shaft 3. The edgeof the rocker 10, I 7

directly back of the trunnions or pivots 11, has a depression 19 inwhich the roller It will'be evident from the foregoing that the travelof the roller back and forth across the pivotal axis of the rocker 10will swing the same, which motion is transmitted to the lever 6 by thepin 12.

As shown in Fig ll, the gripper 5 comprises a tubular casing 20 whichtapers toward its forward end and has an opening 21 thereat large enoughto allow the wire to pass through. Slidably mounted in the casing andpassing out of the rear end thereof is a plunger having a longitudinalbore 23 throughwhich the wire passes. A'spring 24: coiled around theplunger and pressing against an abutment thereon tends to force plungeris urged towardthe contracted end of the casing, and the latter thenforces the balls inward, to grip the wire. When the gripper swings backto take a new hold on the wire, the plunger moves back and the balls areallowed to recede from the wire to release the same. The base 1 also.carries an intermediate upright piece or standard 26 having a bearingfor the shaft 3. The forward end of this standard has a widened portion27 at the top which is provided with a slot 28 forming a guide for thewire cutting device to be presently described. This slot is covered by atop plate 29 having a slot 30 opening down into the slot 28. In the slot23 is slidably mounted a Wire cutter comprising a longitudinallyslidable bar 31 having a longitudinal slot 32 in the upper portion ofwhich is slidably mounted a staple clenching plunger 33. This plungerhas side ribs 3a working in guide grooves 35 in the side walls of theslot 32. The cutter 31 is driven by a crank 36 on the shaft 3 through apitman connection 37. The plunger33 is driven by a crank 38 on the shaft3 through a pltman connection 39. The cutter and plunger are in directlines with their drive cranks when the latter are at their uppermosttravel, thus giving a direct power v 1 wire to feed the same forward.

ward portion of drive when most needed. The cranks are set ahead orbehind each other to properly time the operation of the cutter and theplunger.

Tn'the 'forward end of the standard is a transverse aperture 40 throughwhich the wire is fed'into the slot 23 to come in front of the'cutter 31and the plunger 33. The aperture opens into one of the grooves 35.

At the outer end of this aperture is a gripper il similar to the gripper5. The gripper 41 serves to hold the wire while the gripper 5 isswinging back to take a new hold on the To the forthe standard 26, belowthe aart 27 is pivoted as indicated at 452 'a staple former comprising alever 43 having an upward bend at its forward end terminating in a head4-1 around which the wire is adapted to be bent to form the staple. Thelever is positioned so that the upward bend may enter the slot 32. Theforward end of the part 27 has a recess 45 into which the upward bend ofthe former lever extends. At the limit of the upward movement of thelever, the head it is in front of the cutter 31 and directly in linewith. the plunger 33, and at the level of the groove 35 and the aperture40. The lever 43 receives motion from the crank 36 on the shaft 3, saidcrank being connected by a link 46 to a rocker 47 fulcrumed at T3 on thestandard 26, and connected by a link-4:9 to the rear end of the levere3. The buttons are taken from the lower end of the chutel by means ofan arm 50 having at its forward end an offset and downturned finger 51which is shaped to fit over a button as shown in Fig. 2. Thearm side ofthe wire.

its upward movement the finger engages the lowermost button in the chuteand it then starts its forward and downward movement, whereby the buttonis pushed forward with its eye-shank extending down into the 'slot 30,the latter being in direct line with the chute. The eyeshank is now inline with the aperture 40 and ready to receive the wire. The arm50 thenswings back and places another button in position to receive the wire.In front of the part26 is a staple clenching anvil 55 carried by abracket 56 rigidly mounted onthe standard 26. The anvil is in line withthe slot 23 and faces the parts working therein.

The operation of forming and applying the staple may. be summarized asfollows: The button being placed as hereinbefore described, and shown inFig. 2, the wire is fed forward and threaded through the eyeshank asshown in Fig. 5, the cutter 31, the plunger 33 and the staple former 43being now in retracted position' The staple former then rises and itshead 44 comes against one The cutter 31 also advances and engages theother side of the wire, and the latter is firmly held against the head44, as shown in Fig. 6. The cutter now continues to advance, whereuponthe wire is severed and its ends bent around the head 4A to form theftwoprongs of the staple, as shown in Fig. 7, the prongs being bent overinto the grooves 35. The former draws, thus leaving the staple supportedin the grooves The cutter continues to move forward and carries thestaple to the material 'to which the button is to be fastened, saidmaterial being placed on the face of the anvil 55. The plunger 33 alsocontinues to advance and upon reaching the staple, it presses the prongsthereof through the material and clenches the same, as shown in Fig. 8,which completes the operation. The parts now return for the next buttonwhich has been, placed in position by the finger 5 1. The forward end ofthe plunger is shaped to fit the staple, and the face of the anvil has arecess for bending the prongs of the staple during the clenchingoperation after they have been passed through the material. Thebuttonmagazine 4c above the bottom thereof, contains a button raceway 57 whichis inclined toward one end of the magazine, in which latter is anopening 58. The raceway extends for a short dishead A also Withof thechute is connected to said projecting end to form a continuationthereof. The raceway has a groove to accommodate the button shank. Inthe magazine works an oscillatory button elevator designed to elevatethe buttons from the bottom of the magazine and to deposit the same intothe raceway 57. The elevator is a segmental member 59 which works in aslot 60 in the bottom of the magazine. The concave side of the elevatorfits slidably against that portion of the side wall of the magazinewhich is shaped to form the raceway 57, said portion having an arcuatecurve to conform to the curvature of the elevator. The elevator is swungup and down in the magazine to carry its upper end back and forthbetween the bottom of the magazine and the raceway. The elevator swingstransversely of the raceway in a curved path. The buttons are caught onthe shoulder 61 formed by the upper end of the elevator, and when saidshoulder reaches the raceway at the limit of its upward swing, thebuttons drop into the raceway. The elevator then swings back to carrythe shoulder to the bottom of the magazine for another supply ofbuttons. The elevator does not extend throughout the entire length ofthe magazine, but it is located at the end thereof opposite the endhaving the outlet opening 58, in view of which the buttons are depositedinto the highest part of the raceway, and they slide down the same bygravity. Beyond the elevator, the side wall of the casing slopesdownward from the top of the raceway, as indicated at 61. The oppositeside wall of the magazine, as well as the end wall having the opening58, slopes toward the elevator,,in,

view of which the buttons tend to settle in that part of the magazine inwhich the elevator works. The elevator 59 has a flange 62 at one endwhich works in a recess in the corresponding end of the magazine 4, thejoint being covered by a strip 68 secured to the end wall of themagazine, on the outside thereof. At the other end of the elevator acurved flange 64 extends beyond the shoulder 61. The buttons areprevented from dropping off the ends of the shoulder by these flanges.The ends of the flange 62 are connected by a cross-piece 65 having atthe center a pivot opening to receive apivot stud 66 carried by abracket 67 mounted on the outside of the magazine side wall. To

the inner end or edge of the elevator 59 is connected a pitman 68, whichis driven from the shaft 3, whereby motion is imparted to the elevator.The bottom of the magazine is suitably recessed to accommodate thepitman. Above the opening 58 is a button knock-off flange 69. Anybuttons that are not properly placed in the raceway 57 come in contactwith the flange and are deflected from the raceway 57 back into thebottom of the magazine. The button chute P is shaped in cross-section toconform to the shape of the button-head, and said chute has a bottomgroove 70 to accommodate the button shank, as shown in Fig. 12. At themouth or lower end of the chute are located stop springs 71 which extendinto the chute and allow the buttons to be intermittently withdrawn bythe finger 51 as hereinbefore described.

I claim:

1. In a button-setting machine, stapleforming means, a support for saidmeans having a part provided with a slot, a button chute, a buttonplacing finger movable to carry a button from the chute and to place thesame on the support with the shank of the button extending through theslot thereof, a lever carrying said finger, the finger being rigid onthe lever, said lever having a slot, a pivot for the lever extendinginto the slot, a drive shaft, and a crank on said shaft operativelyconnected to the lever.

2. In a button-setting machine, a stapleforming means, a support forsaid means having a part provided with a slot, a button chute, a buttonplacing finger movable to carry a button from the chute and to place thesame on the support with the shank of the button extending through theslot thereof, a lever carrying said finger, the finger being rigid onthe lever, a pivot for the lever, said lever having a slot into whichthe pivot extends, and said slot extending in a direction to allow thelever to move in the direction of its length, a drive-shaft, and a crankon said drive-shaft operatively connected to the lever for rocking thesame on its pivot and for moving the lever in the direction of itslength.

3. In a button-setting machine, a driveshaft, cranks on said shaft, areciprocatory cutter having a longitudinal slot, a reciprocatory plungermounted in the slot, means for placing a button in front of the cutterand the plunger, a clenching anvil and a staple-former head in front ofthe cutter and the plunger, means for feeding wire and threading thesame through the button shank, means for advancing and retracting thestaple-former head, a pitman connection between the cutter and one ofthe cranks of the drive-shaft. for advancing the cutter to sever thewire and to bend the same into a staple over the staple-former head, anda pitman connection between the plunger and the other crank of thedrive-shaft for advancing the plunger to carry the staple against theclenching anvil, the cutter and cutter, means for placing a button infront of the cutter and the plunger, a clenching anvil and astaple-former head in front of the cutter and the plunger, means forfeeding Wire and threading the same through the button shank, a pitmanconnection between the cutter and one of the cranks of the driveshaltfor advancing the cutter to sever the wire and to bend the same into astaple over the staple-former head, a pitrnan connection between theplunger and the other crank of the drive-shaft for advancing the plungerto carry the staple against the clenchinganvil, the cutter and theplunger Copies of this patent may be obtained for LEO OLLEN MORGAN,THEO. A. MORGAN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent Washington,I). G.

